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From: Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19

The Lord calls Jeremiah

[4] Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,
[5] “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Vision of the boiling pot

[17] But you, gird up your loins; arise, and say to them everything that I com-
mand you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. [18]
And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls,
against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its princes, its priests, and
the people of the land.[19] They will fight against you; but they shall not prevail
against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you.”

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Commentary:

1:1-19. The book of Jeremiah is a collection of the prophet’s oracles arranged
more by subject than in chronological order and interspersed with stories about
his life. The heading (vv. 1-3), as in most of the prophetical books, introduces the
prophet and tells when he lived. Then, as an introduction to the book, comes an
account of the call of Jeremiah (vv. 4-10) along with two visions that give a good
description of the man (vv. 11-12 and 13-19).

1:4-10. This account of the call of Jeremiah gives a very good idea of the myste-
rious nature of every divine call — a call from all eternity and involving no merit on
the part of the person called, in which God makes known to a soul the why and
wherefore of his or her life. No one comes into being by accident, for everything
that happens is part of God’s providence (v. 5).God’s action in creating a person
is described graphically — “formed” you in the womb — a word used to describe
what a potter does when he models something in clay. The Lord “knew” Jere-
miah — a reference to his choosing him for a specific mission (cf. Amos 3:2;
Rom 8:29); God has a plan for each person, and he endows each with talents
that equip him or her to put that plan into effect. The passage also talks of a
“consecration”, that is, the earmarking of a person or thing for the service of
God. God’s plan for someone, made before the person is born, emerges in due
course, when he or she is old enough to take on the assignments that God has
been preparing him for. Glossing this passage, St John Chrysostom, has God
say this: “I am the one who knit you together in your mother’s womb. Your life
is not a work of nature, nor the fruit of suffering. I am the origin and cause of all
things: you should obey and offer yourself to me,” and he adds: “It does not
begin with I consecrated you: first, I knew you; then I consecrated you. Thus
is the original choice shown, and after the original choice, the particular calling”
(Fragmenta in Ieremiam, 1).

When the mystery of a person’s calling begins to be revealed, their initial reac-
tion can be one of fear, because they are very conscious of their limitations and
feel that they are not up to the tasks that the Lord entrusts them with. Jeremiah,
for example, argues that he is too young (v. 6).We do not know how old he was
at the time, for the word he uses to describe his age (na’ar) is imprecise. He was
probably only an adolescent (cf. Gen 37:2; 1 Sam 2:18; 3:1-21). In responding
to a vocation, one needs to listen, above all, to God who calls, who never leaves
his chosen ones on their own, and who always gives them the wherewithal to
carry out the mission he is charging them with (vv. 7-8).

The Lord’s symbolic gesture of putting out his hand to touch Jeremiah’s mouth,
as if to fill it with divine words, is similar to other gestures found in accounts of
the calling of prophets (cf. Is 6:7; Ezek 2:8-3:3; Dan 10:16). It is to tell the man
not to be concerned: he can rest assured that God will give him the right words
to express himself. It is a promise similar to that made by Jesus to his disciples:
he assured them of the Holy Spirit’s help when the time came for them to bear
witness to him (cf. Mt 10:19-20).

The assignment given to Jeremiah implies a heavy responsibility; he will need
fortitude if he is to carry it out (v. 10). It involves in the first place doing destruc-
tive things (plucking up, breaking down, destroying and overthrowing) and only
then come constructive roles (building and planning). St Gregory the Great will
apply the same idea to the attention that is called for in the pastoral care of the
faithful: “One cannot build up if what disturbs the foundation has not been des-
troyed. In other words, the sweet words of good preaching are sown in vain if
the thorns of self-love have not first been plucked from the hearts of listeners”
(Regular pastoralis, 3, 34).

13-19. Jeremiah is shown a pot that is beginning to boil over (v. 13). He is given
to understand the meaning of the disquieting news that is reaching Jerusalem —
rumours of advances by foreign armies that threaten the holy city from the north
(vv. 14-15). These reports are a warning that God sends his people to encourage
them to admit their unfaithfulness (v. 16). In this way the Lord is beginning to an-
nounce a future punishment, which we shall hear much more about as the book
develops — a chastisement to be inflicted on the people of Judah and Jerusalem
for failing to keep the Covenant.

It will be up to Jeremiah to speak to them, reproaching them for their sins and
explaining the reasons for events (vv. 17-18) — not an easy task, but God will
give him the strength to perform it (v. 19).

This passage outlines the framework, the setting, of the oracles and narratives
contained in the book. God never forgets his people and, in a time of crisis, when
the kingdom of Judah is about to collapse, he chooses Jeremiah and sends him
out on his mission. God means him to show the people the real reasons for all
the distress they will meet and, once all the various disasters have come to pass,
he intends Jeremiah to console them and assure them that God never abandons
them.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.